Important Note:
The torment of the grave and the questioning by the two angels befall every person who dies, even if he is never buried. The expression refers to the bliss and punishment of the barzakh (the intermediate realm between this world and the Hereafter). Allah the Exalted says, “Behind them lies a barrier until the Day they are resurrected” 1. It is called “the torment of the grave” only because that is the usual case; a person who is crucified, burned, drowned, or devoured by beasts or birds will still receive, according to his deeds, his allotted share of the bliss or punishment of the barzakh, even though the causes and modes of that bliss or torment may differ.

One of the early peoples imagined that if his body were burned to ashes and those ashes scattered—some on the sea and some on the land—on a day of fierce wind, he would thereby escape that fate. He instructed his sons to do exactly that. Allah commanded the sea to gather what it held, and the land to gather what it held; then He said, “Rise!” and the man stood before Allah. Allah asked him, “What moved you to act as you did?” He replied, “Your fear, my Lord—and You know best.” So Allah showed him mercy. Even so, those scattered parts of his body were not spared their share of the barzakh’s bliss or punishment.

Indeed, were a corpse hung from the tops of trees, exposed to raging winds, his body would still receive its appointed portion of the barzakh’s torment; and were a righteous man buried inside a blazing furnace, his body and soul would still partake of the barzakh’s bliss—Allah would make the fire coolness and safety for him, while He could turn mere air into fire and scorching poison for another. The elements and substances of the universe submit to their Lord, Originator, and Creator; He directs them as He wills, and nothing He intends can resist His command. They are completely subject to His decree, and His will operates in full accord with His power. Thus, it is in no way impossible for the soul to be returned to